Atmospheric Science Student Earns Fulbright to Study Hydrometeorology in Italy

Chris Gilberti holds up a Fulbright offer in front of a computer screen.

Two-time UAlbany graduate Chris Gilberti is one of 25 U.S. students to earn a Fulbright award in Italy in 2026.

ALBANY, N.Y. (July 22, 2026) — Chris Gilberti is saying “ciao” to UAlbany for the next few months. The PhD student in the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at the College of Arts and Sciences has been named a Fulbright Student Scholar and will travel to Italy.

The Fulbright Program's primary purpose is to increase mutual understanding and peaceful relations between the people of the United States and other countries. The Fulbright Student program offers opportunities to graduating seniors, recent alumni and graduate students from different academic disciplines in more than 140 partner nations.

Gilberti is one of 25 U.S. students to earn an award to Italy in 2026.

A two-time University at Albany graduate from Cortlandt Manor, New York, Gilberti didn’t originally seek out Fulbright. After his roommate returned from a Fulbright experience, he was inspired to apply, and another friend convinced him to go through the process together.

The experience he gained from an undergraduate research project was what gave him the confidence to design his Fulbright proposal.

Two guys hold a weather balloon to prepare for launch in the ETEC parking lot. — UAlbany students Chris Gilbert (left) and Evan Belkin prepare to launch a weather balloon from ETEC as part of a NASA field campaign.

“It always seemed like the sort of big opportunity that was too competitive. I remember thinking, ‘Oh, I could never actually get that,’” Gilberti said. “But after undergrad, I felt capable of designing my own project and going down this route.”

Italian by heritage, Gilberti had always wanted to connect with his roots there but never had the chance to stay long. Out of a long list of professors he planned to email, the first one he reached out to agreed to host him and his research.

Starting this fall, Gilberti will be at the University of Naples Federico II, researching hydrology, or the scientific study of the movement, distribution and quality of water across the Earth and its atmosphere. He hopes to help develop techniques to improve flood forecasting and water resource management in Southern Italy, where there is a lack of atmospheric science data being collected.

“My big goal for the project is to give them a better understanding of what weather data goes into their model,” Gilberti said. “Good weather data is needed to get a good hydrologic forecast of how much water is going to flow through streets or rivers.”

He plans to take his project to the streets of Naples and conduct fieldwork, putting his minor in geographic information systems to use.

“I'm hoping to be able to travel and use new technology, like flying drones over streams and rivers, and using satellites to get pictures of rivers, lakes and reservoirs to estimate the amount of water flow based on images,” Gilberti said.

Gilberti is certain that his time at UAlbany has prepared him for both the academic rigor and the cultural exchange of the Fulbright program.

"Coming to this experience from a place of collaboration, I have already begun learning from people with as many different backgrounds as possible,” Gilberti said. “Being able to come together to solve global research questions, then returning to the United States to help the people where I'm from, I think that's important.”